Maria vs Serena sa French Open finals

PARIS--Lalabanan ni Maria Sharapova si Serena Williams para sa korona ng French Open na idedepensa ng Russian netter.

Naipanalo ni Williams ang 13 sa kanyang 15 matches laban kay Sharapova at naipanalo ang kanyang huling 12 laro kontra sa Russian.

“Well, I’d be lying if it doesn’t bother me,” wika ni Sharapova. “I don’t think that it would be a pretty competitive statement if I said (it) didn’t. I would love to change that around.”

Tinalo ni Williams si 2012 finalist Sara Errani, 6-0, 6-1, samantalang umiskor naman si Sharapova ng isang 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 tagumpay laban kay Victoria Azarenka.

Huling nanalo si Williams ng French Open 11 taon na ang nakararaan matapos niyang talunin ang kapatid na si Venus sa finals.

Pinayukod naman ni Sharapova si Williams sa 2004 Wimbledon finals.

“Whatever I did in the past hasn’t worked, so I’ll have to try to do something different and hopefully it will,” sabi ng 26-anyos na si Sharapova. “I don’t feel like I have taken my chances and opportunities.”

Bago ang kanilang finals showdown, madedesis­yunan muna ang men’s semifinals tampok ang laro nina seven-time champion Rafael Nadal ng Spain at top-ranked Novak Djokovic ng Serbia.

Ito ang pang 35 na pagtatapat nina Nadal at Djokovic.

Makakaharap naman ni Jo-Wilfried Tsonga si fourth-seeded David Ferrer.